Mental
by Kupo3.0
Summary: After returning home from adventures, Sora, Riku, and Kairi expect the same old life again. Their antics and talk of other worlds gets them landed in a mental institution. ALIVE AGAIN! Ch.8! ...taking darker turn, Horror/Romance with a dash of humor
1. Aloha Home

Welcome to my first ever fanfic, "Mental"

Hey there, I'm Kupo3.0, I used to be known as Kupo3 but I changed my name to make an account. This is my first fic, so please bear with me on the writing. Saying that, I'd appreciate reviews to motivate and help improve my skills. I'm not looking to buddy up with people or talk online, but if you have questions I may answer them occasionally at the top of the chapter. But, yeah… I need to get a posse like the amazing Sora53 (who helped me with my first edit of this)…. I suppose I have to wait for people to show up first XD Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I am regretful to say that I do not own any of the Kingdom Hearts games.

The light opened across the top of the dark sea, crying out as a symbol of hope, even though they'd already found it in each other.

"Light."

"The door to light."

Sora stood up and extended his hand down to Riku. "We'll go together," he said.

Riku looked up at him, and finally, after the longest time, a smile broke out across his face. Happiness and home were coming. "Yeah."

And they stepped forward together.

The two boys shot through the sky like meteors on fire, racing one another to be dunked into the ocean. Sora and Riku hit the water, plunging into refreshment, and bursting outward from it with grins across their face. With all their vivaciousness and excitement, they paddle back to shore to see the redhead in the distance. Due to his lack of poofy floaty pants, Riku trailed behind Sora. Or perhaps Sora's passion fueled him to reach the shore, cause Kairi was there after all. …maybe Riku knew that all along too. Stumbling onto shore, Sora was spitting out water while trying to call her name, the one name he's been waiting to say. Too bad sea-salt has a tendency to cause excessive dryness. Before he could cough everything up, Kairi had already beaten him to the greetings.

"Sora! Riku!"

"We..We're back"

Something within them, beyond themselves, another part of their spirit, almost seemed to smile and reach out to each other as well.

"Your home"

Three days back. Three whole days of peace and relaxation, just for them to enjoy. But being dynamic intergalactic heroes, they weren't really used to this though, the whole idea of sitting back and…. not beating things.

"What do you want to do?", Sora asked, lazily lounging on the sand, looking at Kairi wading in the ocean farther down the beach.

"I don't know…drink coconut?", Riku responded on the paupu tree.

"Okay…coconut…gosh, it's so high up…I guess I'll have to knock it down. HYAH!"

Bolting upward with a high jump, two coconuts were mercilessly butchered and fell to ground, milk pouring out, the sweet contents of his effort gone.

Riku sneered, "Way to go Sora, now there's no coconut milk left… and I thought I could at least drink coconut milk." "Shut up, I forgot how soft they were." Walking away, Sora was sweating and whispered to himself, "Coconuts…soft…right…" Yelling back at a sniggering Riku, Sora asserted himself by claiming, "Okay, I get it, just can it. I wouldn't have all this pent up energy if we could still beat little black demons to a pulp."

Plopping next to Riku on the tree, Sora looked up at the sky. He wondered out loud, "Do you ever think we'll see the others again? I mean, are we really supposed to just play with coconuts for the rest of our lives?" Peeling back the husk on a shattered fragment, Riku replied, "Who really knows? Our part, our story… it could just be over." Staring across the ocean, Sora answered "I can't imagine that…I can't."

Suddenly, Kairi appeared and raced over to the tree with a bottle in her hands. "Guys, look, look at this! A message!" Jumping off the tree and snatching the bottle from the breathless girl, Sora popped the bottle open at read the contents with his two friends surrounding him. He quickly scanned over a letter with a small symbol on the bottom…three connected circles, almost like in a formation of…

"THE KING!" they all shouted simultaneously.

Standing over by the hut at the end of the bridge, a slender woman let her brunette locks blow across her face. "Well that's interesting…"


	2. That King Has Chicken Scratch Writing

**Chapter 2: That King has Chicken Scratch for Handwriting**

Kupo3.0: Greetings from chapter…. TWO! confetti falls everywhere

Passerby: clap … yawn …walks away

Kupo3.0: Noo! Come back! Would it help to say that it was supposed to be a mysterious black haired woman and that my edit didn't show up last chapter! Cause its true. We're still too low budget and unknown to afford a fireworks upgrade. I need more people to read my story! More reviews! More… HELP!

Firefighter: runs in with hose Help?

Kupo3.0: sigh No, not you…

Firefighter: Aww… leaves

Kupo3.0: Yeah… reviews would be nice, I've been going around and reviewing lots of stories, so READ MINE!!! See, its an update, a nice shiny update, that deserves nice shiny reviews!

Passerby: with friends yeah, that's the poor confetti girl, I read the story but didn't review… walks away

Kupo3.0: NO! What do I have to do, the hula!?!?!?

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters or Kingdom Hearts…heck, I don't even own a posse, okay? I only have my cheap fake hula moves!

Sora, Riku, and Kairi were all standing around the letter, a sign from their long lost friend. Perhaps this could shed some light on where he was, what he was doing, and why he wore an organization robe despite the fact his giant ears were a clear giveaway as to his identity. Okay, maybe two out of the three.

The bottle was relatively heavy and the surface of it warped, indicating that it had floated a long way and been worn by the waves. On its journey a little bit of water must have seeped into it, because Sora felt the dampness of the paper. Getting over the shock of seeing the little mouse head insignia, the trio read the contents of the letter.

_Dear Sora, Riku, and Kairi,_

_My friends…I hope this letter reaches you relatively unharmed. I stuffed it into an old potion bottle that I fed to Pluto, so sorry if the inside has any dog slobber._

Kairi squealed and quickly dropped the bottle she had been examining and probing into the sand, running to dunk her hands in the salt water.

_On a more serious note, I have discovered more meddling with the relationship of dark and light. I have reason to believe that our new enemies may be connected to our past or future. For now, I have titled them 'Chasers'. I know this letter may be cryptic and confusing, but disclosing too much information here could have terrible consequences if you aren't the recipients…_

Sora paused, thinking with a preposterous look on his face and said, "Wait, is he pointing out the flaw in his own plan, I mean, sending us a message in a bottle? Who says we would have gotten it, he's totally spoiling any respect or leadership he might-"

"Ow!" he cried, rubbing his tender and skinny arm, looking at a smirking Kairi with a sneaker in her hand. "What was that for!?!?" "It was for interrupting our letter, now keep reading it," Riku responded calmly before Kairi could answer, pulling the shoe out of her hand to avoid beat down part two.

…_but some knowledge may be required to motivate you. I understand that you are finally all together again and all back at home on your island, but I must ask you to try and assist me in whatever way possible. The island life with coconuts and the ocean breeze must be a nice refreshing break, yet in my heart I can tell that none of you could truly be happy with that type of simplicity. With adventure looming, you can bite on this challenge and come help your other friends. All the worlds are in danger, you must realize. Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, Cloud, Aladdin, Peter, Jack, even the princesses of heart are in danger, so I want you to keep a special eye out for Kairi boys. To wrap this up, I want you three to come and join me on this quest, where we can all work together. Search your island for any way to get off, whether it be a passage or door or gummi blocks that you can construct. I'm sure that some flew off in your direction when they shattered after the end of interplanetary traveling and the destruction of Organization XIII. While you are trying to get off, you can brush up on your combat skills and keep your minds focused, but you must try to come help me. The trouble brewing is so immense that I even accept help from others that may not know of our traveling secrets. Recruit any help possible, but do try and establish some form of trust with them. I believe in you all and stress this urgency once again. I've been avoiding information for this entire letter, but if you've read this far there is one piece of information that you must know, as it is perilous and could affect you three specifically. Beware of---_

Of course, the most crucial and dangerous information of the letter had to come on the bottom, where a mixture of salt water, sand, and dog drool had combined to blur the writing and make it impossible to read with the exception of one clear mouse symbol. Otherwise, where would the irony in the world be?

"Great…fabulous," the redhead stated, tying her sneaker back up past her left ankle. "What are we supposed to do now? Tell or not tell? Try or not try? Believe or not believe? Beware or not beware of this so-called mysterious and perilous danger!?!?"

"Woah, calm down Kairi," Riku said. "Let's think rationally guys. Yeah, half that letter didn't have real information and was just the king trying to comfort and calm us cause that's the way he is. But I'm sure if we read between the lines we could find more real information, stuff he accidentally or maybe purposefully left clues of. We just have to concentrate."

Sora couldn't help but let out something of a laugh, "Hey, hey Riku. Stop trying to think too hard and get into things too deep. It's a letter to three adorable teenage friends, not an epic poem for the gods with amazing literary talent. Take things at face value and get a jump on our goal: get off this little island. He said we can get help… so let's get help. The more people, the faster and better it'll go. We can run off from here faster than you can finish this coconut." Sora tossed a small, hairy brown bulb to his friend underhand. With his signature grin, he laughed and said, "Deal?"

Kairi kept shifting around, looking nervous and scared at once. She quietly said, "Okay, so we aren't alone but we aren't going to rope the whole island into helping us. I think Riku might be right Sora… we should do this as covertly as possible, to avoid any dangers. We still don't know what this 'beware' is." She stood and pushed the sand around with her feet, back and forth while looking down.

They stood around and argued back and forth for as long as it took for the sun to start to set.

A distance away on the beach, two other boys were bumping a blitz ball back and forth. The smaller one gave it a harder hit and shot it over the other's head.

"Ha ha, I guess I'm too good of a player to deal with you Wakka," small Tidus said proudly.

"Ha ha, no man, I'm just off today, just a little off, like everyone else."

Tidus raised his eyebrow at the excuse, "And who else is off today? No one."

Wakka ran his fingers through his hair and pulled off his bandana, replying, "Not true man. Have you seen Riku and Sora all day? Nah, they've been way weird man. Over by that tree. For the whole day! C'mon and looking at some paper forever man. Something's not right."

Tidus rolled his eyes and giggled oddly, noticing his friend's point. "Eh, its them, they need professional help."

Wakka gawked, "Dude!" Tidus continued to walk inside his hut with his buddy, saying, "Just kidding, dude."

After hours of trying to negotiate, Sora got impatient and blurted out, "Guys, I'm just trying to do what's right now. King Mickey needs us, and I'll get whatever help I can. His trouble seems more important than approaching the situation the 'right' way. People are in danger, lives could be at stake here!" Huffing and taking a few steps, he replied, "I'm just trying to be the best I can, y'know? I guess I'll sleep on it."

He moved to the edge of the shore, looming over the sandy ladder below him.

The sun was so bright that only his silhouette could be seen, but his assured response was definite, "I can't help the way I think guys… I think with my heart."

Leaping over the ladder and into the air, the boy became fully submerged in a perfect, aquamarine ocean on what seemed to be a not so perfect summer day.

Riku took a bold step forward, crying out, "Sora! Wait!" His silver hair fanned out with his step, shining in the fiery sunset. But it fell limp when he saw the skinny torso of a brown-haired boy swimming away.

Kairi leaned forward and placed a hand on Riku's shoulder.

"You know, Sora always had his own mind. Its admirable and crazy, but its his heart that controls him not logic, and his heart has never failed, it's too backed with passion."

Riku turned his stare from the ocean to back over his shoulder.

"You can say that, but I remember once when it didn't. He was so crazy and so passionate he stabbed himself straight through the heart."

Kupo3.0: Yay! Much longer chappie. I'm much happier. The letter was filled with lots of fluff and junk, but eh? What can you do, right?

Readers: lack of presence without even a cricket

Kupo3.0: C'mon guys! It was long, it got a teensy melodramatic at the end, but good! Still good! Still review worthy! You read this whole long thing, so you can at least take a minute to review and prove that you didn't just click me and then click back.

Passerby: with friends There! There she is! That's the confetti girl who promised us hula!

Kupo3.0: oO No I did not.

Group: Oh yes you did, Miss 'Cheap Fake Hula Moves' tosses grass skirt on Kupo3.0's head

Kupo3.0: sigh Will you review now?

Passerby: Maybe….

Kupo3.0: Hey, worth a shot. starts some hip movement Please, I beg you to review! hulas

Passerby:


	3. After a Dream

**Chapter 3: After a Dream**

Kupo3.0: Hey people! Thanks for more feedback, I really appreciate it from Sora53, Arashi-enkou, Pokekid716, and Diana9428.

Passerby: What, I don't get credit, I caused the hula sensation that's sweeping the nation.

Kupo3.0: -rolls eyes- Pfft…that is an exaggeration, I'm sure.

Passerby: Oh yeah… -wheels over TV and clicks it on-

Newscaster: Hello, and welcome to this breaking news report. Across the country, socially awkward videogame/internet nerds are breaking out into Hawaiian hula dances. These dances include grass skirts and defined hip movement. More to come at the top of the hour.

Kupo3.0: O-o

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of KH except my shrine containing copies of the shiny games… soo…shiny

-xXx-

I remember once… remember once…

The words kept echoing in her dreams, like a phantom that wouldn't lay at peace.

_I think with my heart…my heart…_

His voice, so blossoming with passion, sounded repeatedly inside her mind.

But in her sleep, a sudden vision of a woman at a distance appeared. The images flashed so quick that there wasn't much to make of them. A dark hallway. Cold silver room. Streaks of red. An intense green eye burning with hatred.

Kairi shot up forward, half leaning out of the hammock in her room. She wiped her sweating forehead with a violet blanket, trying to wipe her memory clean too. That dream was disturbing. But she could never have seen any of this before, so she tried shaking it off as her imagination.

She slipped into a swimsuit and decided to go out to the sand. There was always something soothing about the ocean waves washing over her head. It was like rinsing tension away.

Kairi ran outside with a towel and dropped it on the shore and dove into the ocean. She swam underwater as far as she could, bursting on top for a breath of air yards away from the coast. Her worries were left behind, dispersing themselves in the water.

She continued to do some somersaults and treading out far till she decided to head in seeing a spiky head and a silver one walking onto the beach.

Getting into the shallows where she could still wade, Kairi called out to the boys.

"Hey, Sora. Did sleep do you any good? I hope so, or Riku is still going to be a wreck."

Sora quickly turned to face Riku with an incredulous look. "You were worried about me?"

Riku shrugged, replying, "Not really man. You just seemed a little bent out of shape is all."

Sora responded, "Yeah… I kind of was. I couldn't handle all that stress. After awhile I thought everything might actually be over, so these… things… just took me aback."

Kairi smiled coyly and said, "Well, if you're okay, why don't you come in? The water's great."

She swirled some water around, trying to tempt her friends into joining her.

Sora laughed. "Yeah, sure."

As he started to walk into the water, Kairi's eyebrow went up.

"You're not going to change?" she asked.

"Nah, my clothes are worn from running everywhere in the other worlds anyway. Some washing might do them good," he retorted.

"Sora, swimming isn't the same as washing."

"Whatever," he said, lumbering into the water with his baggy pants and jacket.

"Riku, you coming?" Kairi asked.

Pulling off his shirt, Riku dropped it onto his vest and shoes on the sand and replied, "Yeah, geesh, I'm right here… gosh, did you sleep weird or something?"

Kairi shot him a quick look, but suddenly softened it in her attempts to try and forget again.

"Eh, a little restless, not bad. I just think we should talk rationally about who we'll tell. I think we can agree on a handful of people for help, we just need to pick carefully. So we can talk in the water, cause I like it," Kairi said, smiling cheesily.

Riku scratched his abs and stretched his arms while walking into the water. He stopped for a second, saying, "Kairi, this water isn't nice, you're psycho."

Kairi jokingly snapped back quickly, saying, "Oh yeah, like how your _face _isn't nice, psycho?"

Riku paused, and once registering what she said in his brain, put a ridiculous look on his face, laughing while chasing after her in the water saying, "Oh yeah wait till you see what your face looks like when I'm done with you."

-xXx-

Selphie was strolling onto the beach, leaning onto Tidus' arm while listening to what he was saying. When he was done telling his story about the previous day, she pushed him and had a puss on her face.

"Tidy, I _know_ that they aren't crazy, okay? We all had a weird blank out for awhile and when we woke up… well, none of can remember any of that well, its like we weren't even here… we were all out of it. Sure, these guys seemed to be gone for a little longer than us, but Kairi was here for awhile wasn't she? And who says that Sora and Riku didn't go out on that raft like they'd planned? You're just assuming I'm a silly little gossip and will believe anything you say. Well, unlike _you_, they've grown up very nicely, and I wouldn't mind hanging out with Sora more than you now. I mean, his hair…," Selphie rambled, flipping her hair and daydreaming off.

Tidus looked offended and gave Selphie a look.

He said, "Selphie, I know we've all been out of it. But don't you wonder why they're such a clique. I mean, when we were little, we all used to hang out together. Not isolating ourselves, or whispering, or giving weird looks."

Selphie huffed and responded, "Well maybe _you're_ the one that needs help Tidus. You're being so paranoid and stuff… just back off. Have you even made an effort to talk to them since they got back?"

Tidus looked away and said, "…No…but they haven't tried either."

Selphie grabbed Tidus' head and looked him straight in the eye.

"Maybe you can't expect everyone to come to you… try selflessness," she spoke truthfully.

Walking onto the shore, Sora, Riku, and Kairi were tossing a towel around and drying off. Kairi and Riku headed off to their houses waving bye, while Sora walked up to Selphie on the beach.

He touseled his hair and then looked her in the face.

"Hey Selph… can I talk to you about something? Its kind of important," Sora said.

Selphie looked up at Sora and smiled, replying, "Sure… anything."

Sora let out a sigh of relief and grabbed her arm and while walking with her said, "Uh… lets go over on the dock… its going to be awhile."

-xXx-

Kupo3.0: Ta da! So exciting! The beginning: dark. The middle: clenching. The end: on the edge of your seat suspense.

Passerby: Actually, you really heavily hinted at what the-

Kupo3.0: WAS I TALKING TO YOU!?!?

Passerby: I'm the only one here, other than Jiminy –cricket, cricket-

Kupo3.0: 0-0 oh…well then, I, uh…Um, go review readers, have fun with them, let me know your predictions on the dream and the "talk".

Passerby: -standing around looking off into space- Want to go get mozzarella sticks?

Kupo3.0: Uh… sure…

-start walking off together-

Kupo3.0: Hey… who are you anyway, Passerby? o-O


	4. In the Middle of the Night

**Chapter 4: In the Middle of the Night…I was Talking without Sleep…**

Kupo3.0: So… now is the time to ask you guys, seeing as we are a few chapters in now, do y'all think I'm a Sora or a Riku fangirl?

Passerby: Meh… who cares… you mention the one as attractive and the other takes his shirt off. You're too cryptic for us, put your head on straight.

Kupo3.0: -tears- You're being mean for someone I don't even know.

Passerby: Hello, we have three chapters together now, I think you know me. –licks popsicle-

Kupo3.0: Oh, are you a Roxas fangi- wait! You're distracting me from the question! What's your name??

Passerby: Muahahaha, I'll never tell my fangirl or real identity! –licky lick-

Disclaimer: I don't own KH… but I do own Passerby! Passerby: -stops licking- NEVER

-xXx-

Sora gave Selphie a hand to ease her down onto the edge of the pier and then sat down as well. He was trying to be a gentleman, despite the fact he was dealing with one of the most nervous ordeals of his life.

He cleared his throat and then said, "So…uh, Selph… yeah, what I have to tell you might be a little weird, and-"

She let out a little giggle and looked away.

Sora suddenly got worried and said, "What? Did I do something wrong? I didn't mean to sound strange, I dunno, I…"

He stopped once he noticed her looking at him, waiting for the rambling to stop. There was a bit of awkward silence. He uneasily chuckled and ran his fingers through his hair.

Selphie smiled and turned more towards him, with one leg hanging over into the water. "No, Sora, you're great. Relax, silly! I just like how you call me Selph… no one else does that, I think it's cute."

Sora let out his breath, sighing, "Oh… that. Okay, uh, I just do it sometimes. Well, back on topic, I, um, wanted to tell you something, and, uh, if you're okay with it, I was kinda wondering if we could, uh, keep it just between us, uh, 'kay?" He swung his legs over the end of the dock and splashed his foot into the ocean.

Selphie smiled sweetly and put her hand on Sora's. She spoke slowly, saying, "Sora…you can relax. Just talk to me. I want to hear anything you have to say, okay? Please, trust me."

Sora sheepishly slipped out a grin and said, "Okay… I'll trust you."

He leaned backwards and laid down on the pier with his friend and started talking.

"Well, I guess I should start from the beginning. We all know that something weird happened around here two years ago. None of us can remember anything clearly. Eh, I should say, none of you besides Riku, Kairi, and myself remember it clearly. It started on the night with that killer storm. I ran outside to try and save that raft I was building, when I saw these… things, Selph..."

-xXx-

Together, those two stayed on the pier all night. Stars swirled and moved across the sky as Sora told Selphie the gist of everything. The night the worlds changed, meeting his new companions, traveling to different worlds. Hundreds of waves crashed on the shore, and he still wasn't done. He spoke of fighting these Heartless, trying to save Kairi and Riku, exploring the galaxy yet again after discovering the Organization XIII, fighting Nobodies, discovering the truth about Ansem and the Organization, destroying them all to finally return home to a place where no one knew of this struggle and had just been living normal lives.

The sun had just risen an hour before when Sora finished, "…and I know you're tired and that this is a lot to take in, but the King thinks there's some new danger out there called Chasers and he needs us to get off the island. And I need you to help us Selph."

Tired Selphie sat for a minute digesting what the boy had just said, and then replied, "But what could _I_ possibly do to help you Sora. If all this is real, I mean, I can't summon a key and fight or travel the worlds. I can't battle the darkness in my heart. Hell, yesterday I thought the worst thing I had to battle was my hair. But now…this?"

Sora sat up and tried to stay as alert as possible to convince Selphie to help him.

"Selph, you can help. Really. I'm not asking you to fight, or be some big…thing that you're not. But if you distract the others and occasionally help us search for a way out of here, or gummi blocks to build a ship, that would be the biggest help in the world, Selph."

"Ha ha, maybe in this world," she chuckled, rubbing her eyes.

Sora sighed, "You know what I mean Selph. Seriously, the others and I talked about this. We picked you to ask because we believe in you… we trust you."

Selphie looked up at him and coyly smiled, "Really Sora?"

He shook her head and laughed, "Really really Selph."

They stood up and hugged. She replied, "Okay…probably… eh, I mean yes, yes Sora. I'll try and help. Just let me get this all into my brain. It just sounds so… fantastic and wild to truly exist. I'm trying to believe you… I think I really do, because almost all of it fits so perfectly into explaining all the things that happened. I just need to register and sleep."

Selphie hopped off the wooden walkway onto the sand and started to walk away. "Ah… sleep, sounds so nice… I hear it's good for you too… I'm going to use my key to unlock my door and go to bed… try and figure out if 'like is any of this is for real, or not'?", she giggled walking towards a hut.

Sora shouted across the beach, "Ha ha, you're _hysterical…_come find me later, 'kay? And keep this on the down low."

She nodded and waved her hand while stepping through the doorway to her house.

A yawning Riku was strolling out from a home next door, scratching his head. He approached Sora and asked, "So how'd it go? Were you really up all night talking to her?"

Sora yawned and flopped down on the sand, replying, "Yeah… I wanted to make sure she'd really understand it all, not have it come across as bogus, y'know?"

"Yeah," Riku said, sitting down as well. "So she actually didn't freak out and beat you with that old jump rope of hers… nice… thank god for someone listening with an open mind. You've got to love that."

Sora gazed across the ocean blankly.

"Yeah… love it."

-xXx-

Passerby: -gasp- I see potential shipping!

Kupo3.0: Do you… do you _really_?

Passerby: Stop being cryptic… you know I HATE cryptic…

Kupo3.0: -laugh- You? Hate cryptic? Hello, Miss I'm-not-telling-my-name. Miss I-won't-even-reveal-my-fangirl-choice-of-preference. Pfft.

Passerby: By insulting me, you've just scared any potential posse members.

Potential Posse: 0-0 –runs away rapidly-

Kupo3.0: Wait! –chases after them- I didn't even get a chance to say please review!

Passerby: Muah ha ha ha ha! –polishes off not sea-salt popsicle-


	5. Of Jokes and Fruit

**Chapter 5: Of Jokes and Fruit**

Passerby: Welcome! –lots of confetti explodes- Kupo3.0 has gotten more readers, so she could afford more confetti this time around.

Kupo3.0: Yay! –clap clap-

Passerby: Yeah… she's been all happy and stuff. Slightly slow, but she's figured out frequent updates keep people reading.

Kupo3.0: -clapping- -stops- Hey… I thought you were making an effort to be nicer now.

Passerby: Eh… effort and success don't always match up.

Kupo3.0: If you're nice I'll give you a hula skirt and a name!

Passerby: I already have a name! I'm just not telling _you._ –sticks tongue out-

Disclaimer: Until I have a large army and plenty of duct tape, I won't own Kingdom Hearts. –walks into Tape World: the Super Store- Blast, they don't sell armies!

-xXx-

Kairi woke up from her first peaceful night of sleep since the first dream a few days ago. No more flashes of scenes appeared in her head, no more mysterious messages traveling through her mind. Sleep finally meant sleep again, so she was relieved.

After jumping into a shower and finishing a quick breakfast of toast and a banana, Kairi left her wooden house and shut the door behind her.

Walking, she saw the boys laying down on the shore near the walkway, she suddenly remembered what was supposed to happen the night before and sprinted over to them, plopping down where the waves could brush her feet.

Sora leaned up on his arms, opening his eyes and squinting at Kairi through the bright sun that had finally made a decent way up into the sky.

"Hey there. How'd you sleep, lucky duck who actually got to?" he grinned.

He almost immediately flopped backwards again at shut his eyes, enjoying the soothing cool coming from closing them.

She laid down on his left side with her arms down at her side and answered, "I slept well, actually. Peaceful. But, don't avoid the topic you know I'm going to ask. How did Selphie take the news from you, oh honorary leader?"

Sora shoved Kairi and chuckled. "She seemed fine, for hearing something so weird," he said, continuing, "She went off to sleep on it and think. I'd probably need time to register all of it too, I mean, she probably thought the only thing existing was our little string of islands. But as far as help, I think we're good, she seemed like she really was trying to accept it all."

Kairi followed all the puffs of clouds across the sky and asked, "Do you think we picked the right one? I mean, obviously not Wakka, he'd freak and all. But Selphie sometimes has trouble keeping stuff to herself. Trust me, I'd know, with her being the only girl our age around here."

Riku piped in, "Well, I kind of had the same though, but I suppose she does have us to talk to."

Kairi still seemed slightly apprehensive and said, "Well…yeah. Still, just as a person though, if you had to talk to someone else about all this to figure out if its real or not, wouldn't you talk to one of the people whose _not_ trying to convince you its true? She'd probably want to see someone that's totally unbiased on the situation."

Sora replied, "Yeah, I suppose I see your point. But she seemed really trustworthy last night… I don't know what specifically, but she was open to listening and didn't laugh or anything. She just seemed really honest about it all."

Riku blew a silver strand of hair out of his face while saying, "We weren't there, so we'll have to believe what you're saying. But I just thought about this… it's our last déjà vu here, y'know?"

Kairi fiddled with the round bead on her necklace uneasily, concerned about the way he said that. "What do you mean? …we're always going to stick together."

Riku shifted his arms under his head and explained, "I mean, if you think about it, its true. We did this together the day before the Heartless came to the island, all laying together and just talking and looking at the sky. But… now that Selphie is in on everything, I just get a strange feeling, like, I don't know how to say it, but as if everything is going to change. Somehow… I know we had to do it to help the king, and we all care about him… but its kind of upsetting to me."

Kairi stared upward and said, "Yeah… cause it was just the three of us, always us three. But now she knows everything… and this might sound mean, but she's an outsider, not a part of us. I might be selfish, but it was us _three_… and I know things change but I don't really want it."

Riku was looking up hard, almost at something beyond the sky when he said, "Same way here. I don't know… its not _bad _so much as I feel that things will change… I might just be scared about us changing, I want to stay together."

Sora leaned up again and explained, "Guys… just because we can get closer to someone new doesn't mean that our relationship is going to change, 'kay? Don't look at it as an end of something… It's a new beginning, new adventure, something even more brilliant than before. There's a new threat to take on, but instead of seeing it as a trouble, it's a great opportunity… we live for adventure. Taking Selph in is just a milder adventure, cause we won't have to beat her up with giant keys."

Kairi giggled and pushed Sora back down on the beach and she said, "Don't sit up, it disturbs the déjà vu. And did you just say 'Selph'?? Whatever, anyway, I guess you're right. It's just new, and we shouldn't be afraid. I just…ugh, I'm not used to the 'alternative' adventure, okay?"

"None of us are. Just be excited, we can travel and see everyone again," Sora exclaimed.

Riku let a small smile out and sighed, "Everything is so simple in Sora World, isn't it?"

Kairi laughed, "You can say that again. We just have to stay together, forever."

"What the heck do you guys want me to do," Sora said, "…pick a paupu fruit?"

Even though he was joking, the other two fell suddenly quiet.

Sora felt a little sweatdrop run down his neck as he said, "Uh…guys? Are you serious?"

Kairi looked over at him and tried to explain, "Well…if the story is true…we'll never have to lose each other again. We'll always end up together, somehow."

She scratched her head and tried to lighten up the moment by saying, "And if it isn't true, we'll all get a good story and taste from it, right?"

They all just laid there enduring the awkward silence for about three minutes until they heard a door shut behind them.

Riku rolled over in the sand and then rolled back, stating, "It's Tidus. Looks like he's walking over towards Kairi's or Selphie's."

Sora stood up and said, "Whatever. I'm heading in for the night. See you guys."

He walked off and climbed up the steps to his house.

Kairi and Riku stood up and hugged each other goodnight and went to their homes too.

And the beautiful sunset sank with a blood red glow, seen by no one.

-xXx-

Kupo3.0: Yeah, I know… the ending was a little bit of a downer. This chapter was longer than I expected, I thought their chat would be done by a third or half way through the chapter, but I guess not-

Passerby: Shut up! They don't want to hear your process!

Kupo3.0: You're getting to that mean place again. –frowns- Oh, please review readers.

Passerby: Nothing will make me smiley or tell you my name. …NOTHING!!!

Kupo3.0: -shrugs- Not even a cookie? –pulls orange cookie out from pocket-

Passerby: -grins- FWEE! My name is-


	6. Gossip Girls

**Chapter 6: Gossip Girls**

Kupo3.0: So, how's the cookie?

Passerby: -munch munch- so… good… what's –lick- the frosting?

Kupo3.0: Ah, it's made from real oranges

Passerby: Oooh… -chew-

Kupo3.0: So… while you're currently intoxicated with the happiness of cookies, I'll ask you: what's your name?

Passerby: Mmm…oh, uh, showblwpaphlkjda –bite-

Kupo3.0: Damn it, stupid thick frosting!

Disclaimer: I own Passerby and the cookie… and gum….its minty! What, Kingdom Hearts? No, sadly, it's not mine yet. Not enough duct tape.

-xXx-

Selphie was laying on her bed, twisting the ends of her hair around her finger in an attempt to get it to flip in like a normal person's. But then again, she thought as she accidentally kicked the phone off her bed, nothing in her life seemed normal anymore.

When she heard a knocking at the door, she shot up and ran to get it. She didn't want her mom to get it and try to have a half hour greeting with Tidus: she needed to talk now.

Opening the door, Tidus looked shocked at his friend. In all her yellow pajama and bunny slipper glory, she tugged on his arm and dragged him to her room faster than lightening.

After being pushed into a chair, Tidus looked up at Selphie with a confused expression. She hopped on her bed and sat Indian style, clutching her elbows.

Tidus turned the chair to face her a little better and asked, "Selphie, what's going on? You're freaking me out here."

Selphie rocked back and forth with her nervousness.

"If I tell you, you can't tell anyone, okay? Anyone! It's a secret, but I'm so confused, and my head is killing me, and I just need a friend to help me make it out, alright?"

Tidus apprehensively looked at her and questioned, "Are you going to be okay? I mean, I'll do what I can, but…"

Selphie, "Oh my gosh, thank you Tidus! You're the best. But as far as being okay… I don't really know, I mean, I need to talk to Sora more and"

Tidus clenched his jaw and started to get up while saying, "What did he do to you, I swear, I'll kill him!"

Selphie had to push him back down and explain, "Nothing, he's great. But this is kind of about him.

Selphie took at huge breath and said, " I think that Sora saved the galaxy and traveled to different worlds to fight off the Heartless and rescue Riku and all life from losing their hearts, because the island vanished and Riku was swallowed by darkness and Kairi's a princess of heart so all the bad guys wanted her light and they kidnapped her, but then Sora teamed up with a duck and a dog to search for them, and they met up but these bad dudes in black cloaks showed up and screwed everything again so they had their memories fixed and saved people, but since Sora's memory got fixed everyone that knew him had their memories changed and something with the island totally vanishing ended up with us not remember these two years that they were gone correctly and protecting the intergalactic world order."

As she stared Tidus in the face, he was lucky to be sitting because otherwise his legs would have given out. If she had a camera at the time, the photo of his face would've been worth millions. But now wasn't the time to think of get rich quick schemes.

-xXx-

Selphie sighed after talking to her friend for two hours about the plausibility of the situation.

Tidus swallowed to wash down all the saliva that had built up from his gawking.

Selphie tousled her hair and said, "Well…?"

Tidus stood up and walked to the doorframe, leaning against it while saying, "Selphie… I think you're crazy, or gullible. Either that or they're crazy… as in, psycho, not normal, okay?"

Selphie looked at him with pleading eyes, "Tidus, I thought, I thought you'd understand… I just needed to talk with someone, and"

Tidus cut her off. "And nothing Selphie. I'm not going to turn you in cause you're my friend, but seriously. These guys need help. Professional help. Hell Selphie, I can't believe they'd suck you into this crap. But there's something wrong with such an elaborate story. They're freaking crazy."

Selphie jumped up and grabbed his arm, "You can't tell anyone."

He shook her arm off while saying, "I won't tell about you, but I'm definitely saying something."

He ran towards the front door and Selphie trailed after him, pleaing, "Tidus, wait."

He was walking backwards on the sand shaking his head while yelling out to her, "There's only one word Selphie, and it explains it all: mental!"

His figure passed the corner towards the beach, leaving the girl crushed in her doorway staring down at her bunny-clad feet.

-xXx-

Kairi rose from bed, rubbing her head. She heard loud voices last night, but other than that her sleep went undisturbed.

She hummed as she got out of the shower. Peeking out a window to see the weather, she saw sunshine but also a new person on the beach.

Ramming herself into slip-on sneakers, she bolted out across the beach to see who the person was.

Sitting with her arms wrapped around her legs looking at the ocean (which was surprisingly rough that day), the girl flipped her long hair, revealing a friendly yet pristine face. Clad in a flowy white tunic over a swimsuit, she turned towards the redhead sprinting across the sand.

"Konichiwa (A/N: sorry about spelling XD)," the girl smiled at Kairi, flicking her hair back out of her face.

Kairi leaned forward with respect towards the elder girl replying, "Konichiwa."

There was a brief period of awkward silence, but it was long enough.

The new girl chuckled and said, "I can speak English too, I didn't know what you all spoke."

Kairi sighed, "Okay, phew. I've forgotten a lot of my Japanese, so, uh, arigoto."

Squinting through the sunlight, the new one cocked her head and said, "So, you got a name there, red?"

Kairi rapidly responded, "Oh, yeah, sorry, I'm Kairi. I'm guessing you're new here. Don't worry, you'll fit in when school comes, it's not for awhile though."

The other replied, "Oh, ha, you think I'm in high school don't you? Sorry, I'm a little older than you, 20. By the way, name's Mizuki."

Kairi giggled while explaining, "Oh, oops. Yeah, I'm almost sixteen, not that much of a difference."

Standing around for a minute or two, Mizuki was tying back her black locks while joking, "So, aren't you going to fill me in on the important stuff here? Guys, friends, beach? Or are we just going to sit here and be formal all day?"

Kairi smiled and said, "Of course… you're really nice Mizuki. C'mon, let's get in the water. Lesson one: we live in the water here, you'll be needing lots of swimsuits."

Her beautiful laugh rang out while pulling off her tunic. "Okay then, we can go shopping too. Score, first day and I already have a friend to tell me about boys AND take me shopping."

They giggled while working their way into the waves that were large, crashing, and adventurous.

-xXx-

Kupo3.0: Ta da! Sorry it took a week XD As penance, here's my superheyigot17reviews fireworks! -large fiery explosions-

Passerby: -with tongue still glued- Shawhkolnof brekdornkob

Kupo3.0: You make no sense.

Passerby: -whining- Nofkopshnorkdot!

Kupo3.0: Ugh! Am I ever going to know your name!?!?

**Author's Note: That's a real question at the end there. I'm not sure whether to reveal the name I've selected for Passerby. I've heard that some people like the mystery of the random sketchy girl while others have been waiting for this. Let me know in reviews! Thanks much**** - **


	7. Girl Talking SemiFillerness

**Chapter 7: Girl Talking Semi-Fillerness**

Kupo3.0: Hey there readers! Thanks for coming back and reading !

Passerby: They fellft baddf forf youuf, plosher!

Kupo3.0: By the way, Passerby is talking weird cause she's stuff to the brim with gauze… brought her to the dentist to get that frosting out of her mouth.

Passerby: Mehhf!

Kupo3.0: Yep… gauze and novacaine… does wonders, got rid of my headaches and I'm not the one taking it!

Passerby: mrgrr! Youf arf hreally meannf nohw!

Disclaimer: Guess what! My dream has come true! I now own a dentist office! Oh, KH? No… not mine… that bums things out…. Solution! Pull out teeth! –runs to Marluxia-

Marluxia: Why my teeth!?!?

Kupo3.0: Cause I don't like you! Now open up strawberry-head! –dives in with sharp pointy objects-

-xXx-

Climbing up the ladder to the paupu tree, Kairi and Mizuki toweled off and laid down in the sun. Its scalding fire felt good, made them feel alive.

Mizuki propped herself up behind Kairi and gathered her hair up.

"So Kairi… is everyday like this?" Mizuki asked, separating the auburn locks into three strips.

Pushing a stray piece behind her ear, Kairi explained, "Basically… we sun, we talk, we live, occasional drama, but this is definitely island life."

Mizuki's laughter rang out as she said, "Nice… I could get used to this. Sun, fun, and an island full of boys."

Kairi stayed silent and then replied, "Yeah…" slowly.

Mizuki leaned to the left and peered at Kairi's face while asking, "Hey, you okay?"

Kairi glanced to her side, briefly making eye contact with the girl.

"Yeah, of course. Fine, really. Just a little worn out. Been dealing with a lot of crap lately, y'know?"

Mizuki positioned herself again and commented, "Well, I can't give advice if you don't tell me the problem."

"Meh, forget it, just stuff with the boys…Ow!"

Kairi winced and rubbed her scalp with its tugged hair as Mizuki piped, "Ooh, sorry! I was zoning out after you said forget it, accidentally pulled."

They sat in peace, quiet lasting minutes long as the watched the tranquil waves while braiding. After the extensive calm, a boy walked onto the beach, moving swiftly across the sand with clear anger.

Mizuki's eyebrows went up at the sight of a boy and grew attentive. Her piqued curiosity caused her to break the silence by saying, "Hey Kairi… is that one Sora?"

Twisting her head around, Kairi looked at the boy plopping on the sand near the starts of a bonfire for that night. She replied, "No, that's Tidus, blond one, see? He's okay, but he's gotten caught up with a bit of a macho complex."

Mizuki responded, "Oh… he looks like he's pissed."

"Eh, he gets like that lately: macho thing, remember?" Kairi explained.

Mizuki stared at him for a second and then commented, "Eh, cute, but too short. Kind of teddybear-ish cute."

Kairi laughed and replied, "Yeah, doesn't really go with his attempted 'tough guy' persona. But when you get a look at Riku, he's definitely got the hot tough thing going on."

Mizuki giggled and said, "Okay Kairi, whatever. I'll judge when I see him. I'd guess that YOU like him. Besides, I'm going to have to work and stuff too, so I'll have some distraction from this 'mighty' Riku."

Kairi retorted, "Ew, Riku? No way, he's practically my brother. Oh, don't get me wrong. He's not conceited or anything. He's a hot-without-really-acknowledging it kind of guy. Sweet, thinks a lot. I'm sure you'll like him, everyone does."

Mizuki pulled a blade of grass out of the ground near the base of the palm and tied it around Kairi's hair.

"Ah, finito! My masterpiece of a braid is complete!" she chuckled sweeping own her long hair off to the side as she stood.

"Hey, you should come to the bonfire tonight. We have one every once and awhile, just a big group get together thing. Come. It'll be fun, I can show off my new older buddy to everyone, including boys," Kairi teased.

"Well, seeing as _your_ hair is already done, I'm in the mood for some going out. Just let me go get ready, okay? My place is kind of over more towards where Tidus is. I've got to get dressed and wash up. But meet you later, okay? Maybe… seven-ish?" Mizuki asked, extending her hand outward.

Kairi took it to pull herself up off the ground and replied, "Damn girl! It's going to take you that long to get ready? Its only four thirty!"

"Eh, yeah. I've got to look my best, y'know? See you later."

Kairi squeezed out her dripping wet braid and said, "Yeah, whatever. Later," as she walked away.

Mizuki waved briskly and set out in at light jog across the sand.

She stopped at the blond's feet, him looking up at her with wide-eyed amazement.

Flicking her long mane of raven hair back while brandishing a little smile she said, "Hey you."

-xXx-

Passerby: Whaooot!?!? Kwiffwhanger!!

Kupo3.0: Wow… this chapter is finally… finished! After a month of non-updating… I feel so guilty its tearing me apart, even though I don't know you guys. Still review though! XD Well, I know it's a bit short and seems kind of filler-ish, even though some stuff in it is definitely necessary (cough ending cough), but I found it to be the perfect point to break for the transition into the next chapter with… the bonfire!

Marluxia: Whoot! Beach party! –with sunscreen and towel-

Kupo3.0: What makes you think you're going? I hate you.

Marluxia: Cause there's going to be hot beach babes?

Kupo3.0: First of all, there's a thing called "You just got assaulted by dental work and your mouth is still bleeding", and two, this thrilling, pivotal chapter is too cool for you and your pasty evil body.

Marluxia: Fine, I'll leave and you'll never have another posse member again. You'll only have a passerby that is slightly regaining the power of speech. –huffs off-

Passerby: Huffh?

Girl: -walking on-

Kupo3.0: HEY!!! A PERSON!!! What's your name?

Girl: R

Kupo3.0: …that's it? O-o


	8. The EPIC Chapter

**Ch. 8: The Freaking Long EPIC Chap**

**Kupo3.0: I'm BACK!!! -is met with silence-**

**-sees curled up body on the floor-**

**Kupo3.0: Oh no…no…it can't be so! I didn't mean to be gone so long… I lost the chance at a new posse member, AND…**

**-rolls over the body-**

**Kupo3.0: PASSERBY!!! I forgot to remove the gauze out of your mouth and you dried up after the hiatus from this! NOOOO! My one ALMOST friend!**

Disclaimer: Fluids! Fluids must be mine, to put back into Passerby's weak and feeble body! Blast, KH has fluids in the ocean, but I don't own that either!

-xXx-

Sora threw on a black hoodie over a regular ensemble, of baggy pants, straps, and a shirt.

He did, however, slip on some sandals instead of his usual sneakers. Oooh, such a branching out rebel.

As he chained his necklace on himself, he craned his neck so he could gaze out the window, hearing someone pass by.

Selphie padded on down the path from the bushes towards the beach, where an apparent glow was coming.

_Hmm_ he thought. _She looks good._

But once the girl passed, nothing blocked the view to his friend's window across the way. Her small, curved shape was outlined as a silhouette through the drawn shade.

Closing the clasp on his necklace, he thought,_Come on, you're practically over it. She's been your friend since what, five? She doesn't think like that, and you don't either. There's new fish in the sea._

Warmth spread across his face in a flush as he thought of the brunette, despite something tugging at him inside to run the other way.

_Tonight's going to be interesting,_ he noted to himself.

-xXx-

Kairi peered past the sheers hanging on her window to watch a boy padding down the path to the beach. Her full heart swelled with desire and love. She dropped the curtain and crossed back to her vanity and picked up a soft brush coated in pink and dusted it across her face.

_Maybe tonight. Maybe tonight I can tell him._ She felt so completely sure of herself, every fiber of her being willing her on.

Pulling up her last zipper, she trotted outside in her bare feet onto the sand, migrating towards the glow of flames.

-xXx-

"Just 'bout time you showed up," Riku yelled at Kairi. "What were you doing for so long?" Kairi rolled her eyes and said, "Have you never heard of fashionably late?" and started to laugh. Her eyes started scanning around across the filled beach, with its bonfire, volleyball net, and the few maniacs splashing in the cold night water.

"If you're looking for Sora, he's kicking a ball around with Tidus down the shore," Riku said, a slight smirk dancing across his face.

The red-head tried, in a rather futile effort, to calm down her solid blushing cheeks. "No, actually, I was looking for a friend. Who cares what Sora does? I don't care. Why would I care, I-" Kairi said, cut off by a tapping on her shoulder.

Whipping around, she came face to face with Mizuki. "Boo! Did I scare ya?" she said, smiling. Her long black hair was a little wavy from the salty ocean during the day, flowing over her milky skin and green bikini top hitting right above her dark patterned sarong.

Kairi yelled, "Hey!" She hugged her friend as Riku just stood awkwardly watching as they engaged in quick chatter.

Turning around, Kairi looked at Riku, initially puzzled and then suddenly lighting up. She grabbed Mizuki's wrist and dragged her by the arm right up to Riku.

"Riku, Mizuki, Mizuki, Riku," Kairi said, coupled with the proper hand gestures. "I'm sure you two will get along great. Now, get close to the fire, stay toasty, bye," she said, with the quick wiggling of her fingers in a strange wave as she mysteriously traversed away, alone.

Slightly tinged with just enough pink, Riku commented, "So…hey. Uh, want to make some marshmallows?" He awkwardly gestured back toward the firepit over his shoulder. Mizuki smiled and replied, "Sure… let's make something." They meandered over, side by side.

-xXx-

Sora walked the beach, after an abrupt and strange end to his game with Tidus. He just kept walking forward, with not much thought, until he started to consciously realize Selphie was sitting on the rocks in the shallows. He felt a small jerk in his navel when he saw Kairi striding alone in her short pink dress. Managing to shake it off, he slowly approached the smooth, water-beaten rocks. In the shadows, Selphie's body looked even more slight than usual, clad in long sleeves and loose sweatpants soggy with the salty waves washing over her feet. He bent over and tapped the girl on the shoulder.

"Hey Selph?"

Met with a pause, or perhaps a silence, he finally got a "Hey."

"Selphie, what's wrong? What'cha thinking about?"

She didn't deflect her eyes from the water and continued, "Just trying to imagine what its like. To escape this place, to see everything, then be thrown back in the water. There's got to be so much out in those other worlds… you must hate everything here."

Bending down, he wrapped his arm around her cold back. "Selph, I don't like leaving home. But you understand what I was saying before, right? I don't have much choice if the King needs me." She sat there like one of the rocks.

"Hey, how about you help me right now?" She finally moved, looking up at his face, moistened by the splash. "We can't go now," she replied. "Why not?" Sora responded, enthused. "This has got to be one of the few times everyone's going to be preoccupied. No one's gonna find us while we go searching for whatever that thing the King's looking for its." Seeing the apprehension in her eyes, Sora stood up and extended a hand down to her, saying, "C'mon… we can go together."

Slipping a hand into the much larger one, she said, "Sure", as she was escorted into the midsummer's nocturnal woods

-xXx-

"Ha ha, how you do that Kairi, its, like, crazy," Wakka laughed, as Kairi sat on the sand with a pack of kids cracking coconuts open with her bare hands.

Passing the shells round, everyone was taking sips as she replied, "Ha, you learn it when you've been beating things for year, a la the tutelage of Sora," The group cackled, obviously misinterpreting her words.

"Kairi, you never fight anybody. You only ever watched when Sora got his ass kicked by Tidus. Mad funny, you are. But I'll give you this girl," Wakka said, raising a coconut up in toast. "You sure got heart, even with those crazy dreams," he said as he tilted the shell back to swallow the milk, handing off a near empty shell to frustrated Tidus.

-xXx-

"Ha ha!" Mizuki laughed as she leaned backwards, watching Riku trying to fan out a burning marshmallow.

"Shut up!" he laughed, nudging the girl as he kept breathing on the molten puff. She came back forward, leaning over his arm blowing gently on the flame as it softly extinguished. Looking up at the tall boy, who she was almost half on top of when trying to reach the former fireball, she smiled, "You just have to be careful when you play with fire, silly."

Riku looked down at the girl almost on his lap, at the large expanse of skin across her chest in the moonlight. "Yeah, I guess I need to be careful," he said, with a brief pause, considering going back to a safer position, but screwing that. "-when I play around you."

She looked up at the boy- the man- and ran her fingers down his arm. "We're not being all that playful here Riku. I've only taught you how to blow something."

Riku grabbed her by the arm, pulling her up against his standing body. "Well then let's go." Mizuki smiled slyly at him as he dragged her over past the ferns.

-xXx-

"Find anything?" Selphie called out. "Not yet," Sora sighed, pushing his way through the brush to find the exasperated girl. They were both muddy, with leaves glued onto their legs messily like a kid's craft project.

"What'd the king say to keep an out for again," Selphie asked, pulling a stick from her hair. Sora, resorted to looking under rocks, placed the stone back down. "He didn't really give us much to go off of; he just said to keep an eye out for something unusual." Selphie pushed out of the forest, walking up to the small pool at the base of the waterfall, replied, "Well, I think it's unusual we haven't found anything unusual." The girl dipped a toe into the water, thinking.

"There is no way you are jumping in there with all those clothes on," Sora said, looking at her, with that small glint her eyes. "Oh yeah?" she said. "Well, I think I deserve a break from all this treasure hunting." She jumped, spritly, high in the air before crashing into the water. Sora backed up, caught in the spray and shock. "Oh, so now you're just asking for it," he cried, running at the pool and cannon-balling in. She winced at the drops bouncing off her face, being quickly assaulted with a rather hardcore dunking. "Ha ha, okay, okay, I surrender, ha!" her laughter rang out as she surfaced. Satisfied, Sora hoisted himself out of the water, lending an assisting hand to the girl. He pulled her up and scanned her from head to toe as she ran shaking off under a nearby tree. Her usually curled hair was flattened and slick, with her glowing skin mostly cloaked by the large soggy sleeves and legs of sweats.

-xXx-

Meandering away from the beach, Kairi started out to the dock and up to see the waterfall. It was always so peaceful whenever she needed to get away from all those people, all those people who didn't understand. So clear. God how she wanted things to be clear in the world, like how it was in her heart.

_fLaSh_

_Blood smeared down a wall. Long metal sheet. Green eye. Dark room. Body huddled in corner. Green eye. Her own scream._

-xXx-

Selphie chuckled as she swung her soaked sleeves, shaking out the slight water weight. Walking up to her slowly, Sora said, "So do you think we'll ever find this thing?" Selphie peered toward a crack in the rock wall, approaching a secretively hidden cavern. As she creeped forward, she said, "I suppose we'll have to. If you need it, then we'll find it for you." Reaching for her hand as they reached a tree next to the crevice, Sora turned her around.

"You'd keep looking for us, even though this doesn't concern you?" A slight smile slipped out her lips as she looked up and coyly replied.

"Well, it's more like I'd keep looking for you, more than them."

Sora leaned in to her face, dripping with water, towards her small peachy lips, drops of the waterfall curling down them. Selphie felt her heartbeat jumping as he came in, so sweetly, as he was about to lightly press a kiss.

As they tripped over a tree root and fell half into the crevice, as their feet wrapped around the irregularly bent root, Selphie rolled over to pull herself out of the mud laughing. "You're real suave Sora." With a distinctly brick-like shade in his cheeks, he pushed the slop off his legs as he explained, "I try."

Sora started to stand up, only to have his hand immediately grabbed by Selphies and pulled back down to the ground again. "Sora!" Selphie cried as she brought him down, not for the reasons his hormones had initially hoped. But the alternative was almost as good.

-xXx-

"Mhmm," she moaned as Riku slammed her body up against a tree, ravenously kissing her and flicking his tongue against her mouth pleading for entry. Well, more like pounding for entry, like an angry landlord.

"Riku," she said, as she turned her face away so she could talk. "You don't have to be so forceful. Its only our first night together, I'm not getting into anything more." Riku craned his neck to reach for her lips, licking along her milky cheek on the way. "Then stop being such a tease, and I don't want that silly… I'm good where we are," he grunted, finally just taking his hands off her hips briefly to grab her head and turn it back to him, jumping back into her mouth. Mizuki sighed in delight, her body loosening and pushing towards him as he thrust her back into the trunk.

-xXx-

"So is this-" Selphie said, her eyes shining toward the boy, then flicking back towards the roots of the tree.

"Maybe," Sora said excitedly, digging through the mud to pull the chest tucked beneath the raised root out. When he tugged it up some and wiped the worn wooden lid off, he read the engraving.

_CID_

He breathed in as it began to rain.

-xXx-

_fLaSh_

Her brief flashing sight of two figures in the ahead was cut off by arms grabbing her. Wait,that was real life. Sora and a girl ducked out of her sight as she screamed, quickly silenced by a large hand smacked across her face. Blood dripped down from her mouth as her lips swelled. The large man covered in black clothing hit her in the head as she screamed again. "SORA."

Sighing his name, softly, Sora looked up and saw the girl being carried away.

-xXx-

"Ohh… Riku…" she whispered as he ran his hands through her long hair, wavy and wet in the middle of the woods. She was shivering but not from the cold. The warmth of the boy's hulking form near her sheltered her from most of the water trickling off the trees. She pushed herself into his hot chest, her cheeks flushed and her green eyes hungry. "I'm really glad I met you…" She ran a singular finger along his collarbone as he panted, tired and exalted, from their kisses for the past hour.

-xXx-

_pLuNk_

That would be the sound of a plank of wood, if it hit Sora in the head. Which, it did, incidentally. Whipping round his shoulder away from Kairi, Sora encountered a large man, black hair spewing around an aggressive face. Selphie kicked the chest back under the roots quickly, closing the lid before the man saw it.

Throwing herself towards the man, she shuffled some dirt over the base of the tree and tossed her body in an effort to save Sora. Her reward was only a swing to the face with a very large, muscular arm.

The man picked up Sora, struggling to attack, and hauled the boy forward out of the woods.

"Sora!" Selphie screamed, collapsed on the ground. Wiping the raw skin across her cheek, she stood up and said, "You are not taking that boy away right now." And she bolted forward, shooting out of the forest and through the rain.

-xXx-

"What was that?" Riku said, breaking away from Mizuki's face. "Nothing, nothing," she replied, playing her fingers on his lips. "Didn't just like what we were doing right now?" she asked. Riku leaned away and said, "But… but don't you… I need to check this out, I think I heard Sora's name being yelled out."

Resignedly, Mizuki pulled herself forward off the tree trunk, lifting her feet out of the mud. "Fine," she said, following him as he picked up pace pushing through the brush. "I figure I have to let you back out before the night's over anyway. Wouldn't want to miss the big midnight pow-wow," she said, her eyes looking up toward the moon.

-xXx-

Rain Bonfire Smoke and Misery

Or so it appeared, what with all the screams and swirling smoke merging with the night sky. Pandemonium swept the beach, all the children screaming as they saw a limp redheaded body being tossed into the back of one of three black armored vans. Kairi's form slumped against the backwall, slightly stirring at the slam of the door, navy sky peering into the dark vehicle through a small window. She slid forward, dragging across the ground due to her apparently broken leg.

Reaching up for the window, she peered through to see a troop of darkly dressed men, forcing the hoards of teens backwards. Their sea parted to reveal Sora, kicking and screaming in the clutches of four men, one per limb.

-xXx-

"Selphie!" Sora screamed, as he saw a crowd diverge for his captors to pass through. "Riku! Please!" His kicking seemed futile, but he couldn't reach up to summon his keyblade. And a sharp pain in his ribs indicated that he wasn't winning.

-xXx-

Riku broke through the trees and encountered hysteria, all his friends screaming or crying through the smoke. Pushing through the crowd, he made his way forward to see Sora struggling against the doors of a van, refusing to let them close.

A very tall man stood at the vans, with salt and peppered hair and a soaked laboratory coat. He turned on a megaphone, into which he began to address the crowd.

"People of the Destiny Islands, I warn you that we come peacefully. I am a representative from the new Isle's Facility for the Mentally Insane. Thanks to an incredibly helpful tip off from an island insider, we have decided, that for the safety of everyone, sane and sick, to take action and detain three unstable threats. I want to let you know that their extreme hallucinations of other worldly things and various alien threats are just that: hallucinations. Our staff will do our best to help these children anyway we can, as their health is of the utmost importance, with our new building isolated amongst some of the islands' mountains. Thank you for your cooperation."

The man clicked the megaphone off as he slid inside a sedan out of the weather.

Riku was bumped in the shoulder at the head of the mass by a small-ish girl in wet sweats running forward with mascara dripping down her face.

Sora yelled, still fighting the men at the doors, "Selphie, why, who, who did you tell?"

She sobbed, screaming, "I didn't tell these people, I swear, I didn't tell them, I SWEAR!" as staffers shoved her back into the group.

His back giving out at shoving the door on the back, Sora grunted through his hanging wet locks, "You're lyi-"

_Click _As the door shut, locking Selphie out, shattering her as she screamed in the night.

Riku felt his arms, grabbed roughly, when he stepped forward towards Selphie. He punched one of the men in the face, breaking a nose and knocking him out cold. A pack ran forward and grabbed him though, taking about seven to one to be evenly matched.

"Riku!" Mizuki yelled, stepping forward, as he thrashed in their grips, carried toward the last open van. "Riku."

He howled out, in anguish, his confused mind swirling. "I"ll come for you Mizuki, I swear! I'll get out of this damn place. I'll see you again!"

The men chucked him in the back, slamming the van shut before Riku could launch forward and attack. The twelve wheels began to spin, carrying the mental children away.

Tidus turned around, at the silently numbed crowd, and yelled, "What are you all looking at, huh? You're safe! Go home!"

He looked down, at the heap of a broken girl in floppy oversized clothes, before walking away. "You're safe. Go home."

Mizuki stood on the far end of the beach, walking along slowly in the direction of the vans. She stopped and wriggled her toes in the sand, and she touched her lips. Then she looked down and tied her sarong back around her waist, tugging it tight. Glancing back up, she said to the rattling rear van in the distance, "I'm sorry this happened tonight."

-xXx-

**Kupo3.0: Oh my god! Two months, and I've finally finished the epic uber-long chapter!**

**-No one even crickets-**

**What! Oh, right. I'm really sorry about the unannounced hiatus. Its not that I haven't wanted to work on this story, I've just had the craziest, probably crappiest year of my life. I've been dealing with so much death, stress, everything. But I don't want to get into that here. I'm just psyched to be writing some more. I'm finally starting to hit the darkness and romance of the story, at least dipping my toes in, so hope you enjoy it. I still try to sprinkle in some humor, for kicks. Hope you enjoy it and realize any material that may be… controversial (especially coming up) is for the benefit of the story (at a slight bit of guilty pleasure in the romance). Please, if you've read and felt this worthy, review so that I know people still read after my half year plus hiatus. Still not satisfied with their capture and some other stuff, but I REALLY need to post this up. Thanks, and sorry for such a long note.**

**Please review, and wish well to Passerby. I think she needs it! Ha ha.**


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